I asked this question in early July and it was a 50/50 response on wether this blazer team makes playoffs. Does the Williams signing push u over or still on the fence?
I thought before and still think the Blazers will be in the fight for the 6-8 playoff seed. Some people on here see that as a bad thing, that perpetual tanking is preferable to maximize catching lighting in a bottle to get a 1-4 seed. I do not agree. I want to see constant progress, not regression. This team is on the road back.
Honestly I think it all depends on Aldridge and Lopezs health. If either miss significant time we are in trouble. If they stay healthy I think we are in.
Without having looked at the rest of the NBA landscape, at this point I think it'd be a failure (maybe not monumental...I had wanted to write monumental, but I'll hold off on that) to miss the Playoffs. Prior to the signing my thinking was somewhere in the 7-9 range. With Mo on board I'm thinking the 5-8 range. I may amend this as we get closer to the season and I actually look at the other rosters around the league.
I wish I had placed a bet on us making the playoffs before the draft, the odds are going to drop significantly now...
Agree on the still in the 6-8 range. We'll take that leap only if/when Dame does. Another decent big man behind RoLo can solidify our playoff chances. I think all these teams are still definitely better than us: OKC/SA/LAC/MEM/HOU Borderline on GS because they rely heavily on Curry's and Bogut's health. DEN will stumble a bit. Minny will never be better than us no matter how hard they try. NO is gonna surprise a lot of people this year I think. Could be better than us, but they've got no depth at all
Let's assume that Houston and OKC are the two best teams in the west next year. You think we're better than San Antonio? Better than Memphis? Better than the Clips? You saw who LAC added, right? I think we're on par with Golden State, I think we're better than Denver, and I guess we'll see how Minny does this year. If they can stay healthy, they should be in the hunt. I think our ceiling is 5-6 range. I don't think we're top three. Not even close.
I've been saying that for, what, six years? At this point I'm just going to count them in until Duncan retires. They just went to the Finals for pete's sake.
They did a few years ago kinda... They were a 7 seed in 09-10. Then Parker hit his prime. I think they fall off this year unless Leonard becomes a true superstar.
I think that it's pretty clear that health is going to be a major factor for any team wanting to make the playoffs in the West. Without LMA, the Blazers chances would take a nose dive, but then so would any other team's if they were to lose their best player.
